Joe Williams Fudges Weather Fact

Politico parted ways with Joe Williams after he said in the 2012 election that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney wasn’t comfortable being around black people. That, however, hasn’t stopped him from blurting out head scratchers, like the one he made on Current TV’s “The Young Turks” Tuesday.

Discussing the politics of disaster relief for Moore, Okla., which was devastated by a tornado Monday, Williams waded into the global warming debate. “We need to get used to this because climate change is happening,” Williams said. “It’s real.” He continued, “A lot of people tend to think that it’s just hot winters, cold summers. No. We’re talking about severe weather events — a force-5 tornado, which this country and the world hasn’t seen…”

The Oklahoma tornado was classified as a EF-5, meaning its winds reached at least 200 mph. But where did Williams get his degree in the history of global climate? He was wrong about the world having never seen an EF-5 tornado.

USA Today reported Tuesday that EF-5s are rare but not “never seen.”

Since the early 1950s, almost 60 EF-5 tornadoes have hit the U.S., according to the report. Moore, Okla., has been hit by two out of the 59.